This weekend has answered a lot of lingering questions about Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal departure. As we learned in a statement from Buckingham Palace, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will continue to fulfill their duties until this spring, when Megxit will go into full effect — this means that, just one day after Harry spoke for the first time about his decision to step back from the title, he is already back to work for the royal family.
Harry attended the U.K.-Africa Investment Summit in London, hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. At the event, he spoke with Johnson privately, and also met with Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani of Morocco, President Arthur Peter Mutharika of Malawi, and President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique. The goal of the summit was to discuss the U.K.’s support of economic development across Africa.
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Connecting with African leaders and supporting the continent’s humanitarian and economic causes has been one of Harry’s priorities for decades now. Last fall, when Harry and Meghan went on a royal tour of Africa, he expressed his excitement on Sussex Royal’s Instagram. “In just a few weeks our family will be taking its first official tour to Africa, a region of the world that over the past two decades has been a second home to me,” Harry wrote. “On a personal note, I can’t wait to introduce my wife and son to South Africa!” During the tour, he attended meetings with leaders and civilians alike, and even brought baby Archie on a minefield walk in Angola — an homage to Princess Diana, who once did the same walk to raise awareness about the dangers of landmines shortly before her death.
Over a decade before his tour, Harry and Prince Seeiso, Principal Chief of Matsieng, co-founded a charity called Sentebale, which aims to help children living with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana. It was at a Sunday night event for Sentebale that Harry addressed his impending exit.
“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one I made lightly,” he said. “I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities, and military communities that are so important to me.”
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